Free Underground by Haruki Murakami

Machiya and has never thought of moving. She lives with her mother and father and a sister who is fourteen years younger than she. Though she’s a working adult in her own right, and sometimes considers striking out on her own, she still
“sponges”
off her parents
.
    After graduating from high school, she went to business school and studied data processing and bookkeeping, then found work with a clothing manufacturer. She is in charge of one of the company’s own brands. It is an exclusive line that targets the
“cute”
and
“frilly”
tastes of debutantes and young wives from good families. Her father works in the clothing industry, which is how she was introduced to her present employer. Ms. Kazaguchi has no great interest in the clothing business, but she is happy to be able to use her computer and word-processing skills on the job
.
    She likes reggae, and her favorite sports include snowboarding, skateboarding, and surfing
. “I admit I’m shallow,”
she jokes. She enjoys going out with her friends, many of whom she met at grade school. Most of them have stayed in Machiya too
.
    Fit and strong-willed, she is making the most of her free-and-single years. With her straight, shoulder-length hair, I imagine she’s popular with boys. And, for what it’s worth, her mother’s my age—so she’s young enough to be my daughter
.

    It takes about forty minutes to get from my house to the office. I take the Chiyoda Line from Machiya Station to Nijubashi-mae Station,walk to Yurakucho Station, then change to the Yurakucho Line for Shintomicho Station. I generally get to the office around 9:05 . Office hours start at ten after, so I aim for ten to twenty-five minutes’ leeway. I’ve never been late. I catch the same trains every day.
    They’re, like, supercrowded. The Chiyoda Line between Machiya and Otemachi is impossible. You can’t even move your arms. When you get on they shove in—
oomph!
—from the back, then just pile in willy-nilly. You get “feelie” guys too, sometimes. No fun.
    At Otemachi there are all these connections, but once past there it clears out a bit. Nijubashi-mae’s only the next stop, so it’s pretty much crowded the whole way for me. From Machiya to Nishi-nippori, Sendagi, Nezu, Yushima, Shin-ochanomizu, Otemachi … can’t do a thing. You’re just trapped there. Once I’m on, I stand by the door just leaning into this solid mass of people, maybe sleeping. Yeah, that’s right, I can doze off standing up. Almost everyone does. I just close my eyes nice and quiet. Couldn’t move if I wanted to, so it’s easier that way. People’s faces are so up-close, like this, right? … so I close my eyes and drift off …
    March 20 was a Monday, wasn’t it? Yeah. Mondays around then our section had meetings first thing at 8:30 . So that day I had to go in earlier than usual, left the house about 7:50 . Took a different train than usual. Earlier, so a bit emptier. I actually felt I had some room. So I get on, settle into my nook between the seat and the door, just the perfect setup for a nice little nap.
    I always board the front car, second door down. I head for the corner, hide in there, and don’t move. But at Nijubashi-mae Station the door opens on the opposite side from Machiya, and at Otemachi I have to move to the other door.
    So that day I’m trying to do that, getting ready to open my eyes. I can’t move without opening my eyes, right?
(laughs)
Only I notice it’s hard to breathe. It’s like, there’s this tight pressure in my chest, and as much as I try to inhale, no breath comes in … “That’s odd,” I’m thinking, “must be because I got up early”
(laughs)
. I thought I was just spaced out. I’m pretty bad at waking up anyway, but this was just a little too stuffy.
    It was okay while the door was open and let in some fresh air, but once the door closed at Otemachi the stuffiness got worse. Howcan I describe it? It was as if the air itself had shut down, even time